A review by kategci
Daphne by Will Boast

3.0

I received an ARC from the publisher Liveright and its editor, Katie Adams. This well-written debut novel tells the story of Daphne who is physically overcome by her emotions due to a very real medical condition. She has learned to "manage" her life, living it mostly looking at it, rather than inhabiting it with all its messy feelings. She has moved from the Midwest to San Francisco and taken a job at a medical device company, managing their dog lab. Her apartment is equally sterile, a place of refuge where she keeps changing the furniture and taking pictures trying to get into her favorite interior design magazine. Then she meets Ollie and her life is upended. Will Boast takes you inside Daphne's head and body, feeling her stress and illness, providing insights into her decision making process which allows the reader to experience empathy for Daphne as well as others with debilitating illnesses.